Slowly and Then All at Once
by egrant94
Summary: When Pan's curse hits Storybrooke not everyone makes it back to the Enchanted Forest. A twist on season 3's mid-season finale.
1. Chapter 1

**Slowly and Then All at Once**

_Chapter 1 – Lack of Modern Conveniences_

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Charming and the dwarfs worked together to push open the heavy wooden doors that led to the inside of the castle. The last few months had been unkind to the grounds, which were more run down than when Snow and Emma were trapped in the Enchanted Forest earlier in the year. The hinges on the large doors were rusted, and any windows that still contained glass at the time had since been shattered, pieces of blues and reds coating the stone walkways. The gardens were mostly dead and overgrown, while the bridge that lead over the expansive body of water surrounding the castle appeared to be crumbling with each step.

"Well this isn't that bad," Charming stated with a smile once the group stepped into the grand entrance hall. He kicked at a small pile of leaves and looked around some more, nodding to himself. "I expected a lot worse. A little bit of sprucing up and some renovations and it will be as good as new again."

"And how exactly do you plan to do that? Marco didn't come through with us, who knows if we will ever even see _him _again anytime soon. I don't exactly trust you and the less-than-magnificent seven to put a roof over our heads." Regina huffed and pushed her way passed where Snow, Neal, and Belle all stood in a small group. She disappeared down a long hallway to the left of the hall, her footsteps echoing against the walls as she left.

"What the hell that all about?" Neal questioned no one in particular.

"She's just lost her son Neal," Belle tried to remind him softly, looping her left arm around his right. "I'm sure everyone here is feeling the same things right now. Regina is just feeling it all a bit more. She was with Henry for longer than any of us had even known him, Rumple, or Emma. Even Hook I'm sure will be missed to some extent."

"Wait a second! _Where is Hook_?" Neal asked a bit more loudly than he had obviously intended, as shown by the red tint of his cheeks.

"He was with us at the town line when the curse hit. He couldn't have landed back in the Forest far from here," Ruby pointed out, having spoken for the first time since they had entered the castle. "Maybe some of us should form a search party and go look for him and some others in the woods."

Neal nodded his head solemnly with his eyes cast towards the floor while he followed Ruby back out of the castle. Belle followed them as well, with the dwarves making sure everyone was able to cross the decaying bridge safely. Charming began flipping some chairs and small tables back over while Snow looked around the room for something resembling a broom. Regina came back in a few minutes later with different dress on and her hair taken down from the tight up-do it was in previously.

"They aren't going to find him out there," Regina chuckled darkly as she surprisingly started picking a couple of knick-knacks off of the marble floor and placing them on the tables. "The effort they are all putting in is pointless."

Snow turned in her spot, her cape and dress twisting in the dirt with her movement, and looked at Regina with a confused expression. Charming's expression matched his wife's as he tried to connect what Regina was saying with what he remembered happening just a few hours previous. He finally huffed in frustration and asked

"What do you mean he isn't out there? Where is he then, Regina?"

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_Flashback (the town line a few hours ago):_

_Emma couldn't help the sigh that escaped her dry and trembling lips as she quickly tried to pack away the bare minimum of her and Henry's belongings into the back of the old yellow bug. She could hear the soft whispers of Henry's solemn goodbyes to their friends and family members just a few feet away. Trying her best to distract herself from what was coming, Emma once again changed around the placement of their bags._

"_Emma," she looked up from her shuffling around the contents of the trunk and saw Regina looking down at her hunched over form. Her lips were in a tight line and a look of both sadness and determination graced her wind kissed face. "I might have enough power to keep someone here with you; help them outrun the curse. I would go with you if I could, obviously, but since I'm the one that cast the curse that isn't exactly a viable option."_

"_Killian, I want it to be Killian," she replied quickly and without even thinking the words through completely. A look of confusion was firmly masked on Regina's face. "Hook, I mean. If I had to choose someone to come with us, I would choose Hook. I can't split my parents up again; they just got each other back."_

"_Are you sure that the pirate is who you want? There is no going back on this decision, Miss Swan," she cleared her throat and spoke again, more softly this time. "Emma, when I rewrite all of your memories, he's going to be entwined with them as if he was always there."_

"_I want Hook to come with us when we leave. If you are really giving me the _choice_, I want Killian."_

"_I suppose this means I'm going to have to conjure up enough magic for an extra hand as well then. You can't mention to anyone what our plan is for now; not even Hook. I will inform your parents when we arrive back in the Enchanted Forest. We don't need any drama with Baelfire over there."_

_Regina turned around and began walking away, quietly murmuring to herself and wringing her hands together as she went. Emma reached out her hand and touched the queen's arm softly. When she turned, Emma didn't say anything. A look of understanding passed between the two women; each knew how important the conversation had been._

_Emma closed the trunk of the car and took a deep, shuddering breath. A couple more tears escaped her eyes, she wiped them away before turning to face everyone and say her final goodbyes._

* * *

Present (Enchanted Forest):

The morning after everybody had landed back in the Enchanted Forest, the castle was buzzing with activity. Many people were helping rebuild and clean up all of the rooms while others were finally arriving, having landed a fair distance from the castle. Snow was talking with Red while Charming helped a couple of the dwarfs with planning the new construction to be done in the main hall. Neal entered the room and immediately headed straight for where Regina had been instructing people all morning. Everyone had gone to bed by the time the search party arrived back from their scouting the night before.

"Nobody has seen or heard from Hook, but pretty much everyone else has been accounted for already," Neal murmured to the queen. "Do you think he went back to his ship already?"

"He would have at least landed in the lake with us yesterday," Charming commented as he made his way over to the odd duo. Snow finished her conversation with Red and upon seeing the forming group, made her way over as well. "There was really no sign of him anywhere? Ruby didn't smell anything?"

Snow noticed the way Regina was looking around the grand room. Shifting back and forth in her dress and playing with a ring on her finger. She tried not to make eye contact with anyone in their small group, but failed miserably when Neal attempted to regain her attention.

"Oh my Gods, he isn't here!" She finally shouted. Her eyes were wide when she realised how loud she had been, and silently apologized to everyone who was covering their ears after her echoing outburst.

"Well then where is he Regina? Nobody got sent back to their own realms, we all ended up in at least the Enchanted Forest." Red reminded as she looked towards Victor with a slightly wistful smile. He noticed her staring and gave a familiar wave and a wink in return.

"I had enough power to send someone along with Emma and Henry; Hook went with them," Regina rolled her eyes and shook her head when Snow looked like she was about to speak. "I was hoping to tell you two," she pointed towards the couple of feet away. "In private, but I thought he would be the best option to keep them safe without their previous memories."

"What about sending me with them? I could have kept them safe with any previous knowledge. At least Emma knew me before Storybrooke!" Neal's face had turned a deep red as he shouted, a vein in his forehead appeared and he seemed unaware—or uncaring—of the scene he was making.

"As far as Emma knows, you are still the man who let her go to jail in his place for the mistakes that _you _made. What memories could I have possibly created for her that would have made that okay? I couldn't change the history of where Henry was born and under what circumstances it happen, that isn't how this works. I'm surprised she found it in her to forgive you after ten years; you think she would have forgiven you right away?"

"I can't stay here and live with her, one of us is going to have to leave!"

Snow and Charming shared looks of both anger and concern. This was the first they were hearing of the true reason Emma had ended up in prison. They knew of the watches, but not that Neal had been the one who stole them originally. Snow knew that something big had happened between Emma and her first love, but they had no idea it was something like this. Regina crossed her arms over her chest and looked at the couple expectantly—she wasn't leaving.

"Given recent and not so recent circumstances, I think it would be best if you left," advised in his best authoritative voice. He looked towards Neal and slumped his shoulders and aimed a sour look towards the man. "I'm sure your father's castle could use a new resident."

Snow looked up at her husband with wide eyes and her mouth hanging open. She felt protective of their daughter, but was shocked when she heard her husband essentially kick a family member from their home. Regina tried to contain a surprised laugh and turned on her heel, walking away from the scene. Neal huffed and went in the opposite direction to talk to Belle; she had been watching the argument unfold from a distance. Belle loved Neal like he was her own son, and he almost was, but she understood the reasoning behind Regina sending the Captain with Emma and Henry. Despite their difference in the past, she could see the love Hook held in his eyes for the family he wanted so badly to be a part of forever.

There was another moment of silence, and then everyone went back to work. There were conversations of what was left to be done to make the castle fully liveable before starting anything cosmetic. The dwarfs had put together some rough blueprints and multiple lists of supplies that now covered a large table in one of the corners. Many items on the lists had been crossed out as they realised that a lot of the things they had written didn't exist in the Enchanted Forest. Charming approached the paper and ran a finger over the dark markings. He chuckled when he saw that there was one item in particular that had been written and then crossed out at least once by each dwarf:

_Duct Tape._

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**This chapter didn't turn out quite the way I wanted it to, though isn't that always the way with first chapters?  
**

**Anyway, thanks for reading!  
**

**Review/Favourite/Follow/All That Junk**

**- Erin**


	2. Chapter 2

_**Thank you to everyone to reviewed/read the last chapter! I appreciate it a lot :) This chapter is up a bit later than I had intended, but there were a few revisions I wanted to go through first. Between first and last draft I added about 500 more words. So the grand total for this one is 3,891!**  
_

_**All of the flashbacks (which are titled and in italics) are the memories that Regina implanted in Emma and Killian's minds.**_

_**On with the story!**_

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**Slowly and Then All at Once**

Chapter 2 – Old Battered Book

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_Flashback (January 22, 2010):_

_Emma and Henry held hands as they made their way down to the lobby of their building with the boy's school bag and a thermos full of freshly made hot chocolate. They stopped a couple of feet short of the glass door and Emma pulled her son's scarf out of her purse while she eyed the newly fallen snow from the night before. Henry held the thermos tightly in his hands while his mother bent in front of him and wrapped the plaid fabric around his neck._

"_You have to make sure you keep this on when you go outside at recess and lunch, okay? Remember how sick you got this time last year?" She kissed his forehead and took the thermos back as they made their way outside, hand in hand once again. "Did you remember to pack your homework from last night? You worked really hard on that book report."_

"_I put it in my bag while I was brushing my teeth last night," Henry informed her happily. They paused at the intersection and waited for the walking sign to appear. "I can't wait to do my next one."_

"_Do you want me to make a stop by the bookstore today and get you a few new books? I know you that list on the desk in your room," Henry nodded his head vigorously and dug around in his pockets with his mitten covered hand. Emma was surprised when she saw that he pulled out the familiar piece of crumpled light blue paper from his coat pocket. There was a list of twenty or so titles written haphazardly in various different colours and inks. He handed her the sheet of paper and pointed out a couple of novels that had little stars drawn next to their names. "I'll stop by that bookstore near your school after I drop you off and see what I can get from there. It isn't very big though, so I might have to stop by the mall."_

_She stuffed the list in her purse and tightened her hand around Henry's while they kept walking. It was easy to tell, a couple of minutes later, that they were getting closer to the school grounds. The sounds of children playing in the snow could be heard just down the block. Car horns sounded in the streets—parents seeing their children off. They walked until they reached gates that kept the students safe by dividing the school yard from the sidewalk and city street, and released each other's hands._

"_Your new pile of books and I will see you at home tonight. Remember that Mrs. Q is picking you up here after school and you'll be staying at her place for a little while. Try to get some of your homework done while you're there," Emma kissed the top of his snow dampened head and smiled when he mumbled a quiet 'I love you' against her coat covered stomach, so his friends wouldn't hear. Emma took the opportunity while he was walking away to shout her response back, "I love you too!"_

Present Day (April 20, 2017):

The faint glow of a nightlight plugged into an outlet lit up the entry way to the apartment as Emma set her bag, keys, and a box of pastries she had gotten on the way home, down on the table next to the day's mail. The sound of voices filtering through the apartment from the master bedroom, mixed with the sound of the sirens and car horns from the busy city streets a few floors below. Emma kicked off her too high heeled shoes and pushed them towards the closet, too tired to slide open the door and put them with the growing pile of footwear. She grabbed a pear from the kitchen island as she made her way through the dark apartment, towards the voices telling a familiar story.

"The crocodile ate his hand?" a small feminine voice asked in wonder.

"Crocodiles are very dangerous creatures, Lottie. They are not to be trifled with." Henry reminded the girl in a soft tone.

Emma stopped in the doorway to the room, smiling at the sight of her son and daughter reading their favourite book together. The old battered book, that had most likely seen better days, sat safely in Charlotte's small hands as she rested her head on her sleeping father's rising and falling stomach. Henry was leaning against the pillowed headboard with her tiny legs thrown over his lap and an empty mug still in his hand. Emma cleared her throat to get their attention.

"You two are supposed to be in bed," she told them in a scolding tone. With a glance at the alarm clock on the nightstand Henry seemed to realise that it was indeed later than he thought. Emma took a bite of her pear and chuckled, "Go brush your teeth and I'll come say good night in a minute."

"Come on," Henry said to Charlotte, picking her up from the bed with her hands still firmly hanging onto the book. The boy shook his head at his sister and gently wrestled the book from her sleepy hands. "We can finish the story tomorrow after school. Maybe a trip to the park too—if you are lucky."

He carried her out of the room, dropping a kiss on his mother's cheek as he went. He had gotten so tall recently, and Emma found that she had to remind herself that he was already sixteen. She waited until the faucet started running in the bathroom down the hall, before making her way over to the bed so that she could wake her sleeping husband from his sound slumber.

"Wake up sleepyhead, Emma called to him in a tone a bit higher than her normal speaking voice. She climbed up on the bed, setting aside her piece of fruit, and straddled his hips; proving difficult in the pencil skirt she had worn to work. She spoke against his lips this time, trying to coax him once again in to the land of the living. "Come on Killian. If you're lucky, I might have picked up one of those delicious chocolate croissants from the bakery on my way to the subway. If you don't get up now, I'm going to eat it all by myself."

"Oh no you don't," his gruff voice stopped her movements as she shifted to get off the bed. He wrapped his arms around her waist and pulled her back down to press their lips together again. A short time later, Emma pulled back from the sweet kiss and got off the bed to change from her uncomfortable work clothes. "How was work, love?"

"Hectic, stressful, and tiring," she huffed and made her way to their shared dresser to grab a set of pajamas. "You wouldn't believe the kind of crap I had to deal with today. The life of a magazine editor isn't as glamorous as everyone in this town seems to think."

"Well in a little under a month we will both be off work and you will have nothing to concern yourself over; even if it is only for the one weekend," he stood from the bed and grabbed pajamas from the dresser as well. Emma pulled off her shirt and bra, only to throw a loose shirt over it; much to Killian's displeasure. "How did I get so lucky to marry a woman as beautiful as you? Sometimes I wonder what would have happened if you didn't come into the bookstore that day."

"Well, I would be missing my amazing daughter, my handsome husband, and an old battered book. Seriously, how many times has Henry read that thing?"

"You most certainly got your money's worth, darling."

_Flashback (January 22, 2010):_

_The smell of old dusty books and citrus met Emma's nose as she walked into the bookstore. The bell over the door jingled in greeting at the new customer and calling out to one of the employees. Emma unzipped her think winter jacket and shook her snow covered hair out onto the already soaked floor. She heard footsteps approaching and pulled out the list Henry had given her a couple of minutes earlier._

"_Good morning," a gruff voice called to her from behind the long wooden counter that she hadn't noticed previously. Emma looked up and saw a rough looking older man with thin white hair barely covering the top of his head. "I'm sorry, but we aren't open yet today. You'll have to come back later this morning; sometime after ten."_

"_Stop being such a jerk, Earl," another, much deeper, voice chimed in from behind a tall shelf. A mop of black hair peaked out from around the corner and a set of sea blue eyes met with Emma's before flicking over to Earl behind the counter. "What would Ms. Mae say if she knew you were treating a customer that way?"_

_Earl huffed angrily and turned to head towards what Emma assumed was the back room. He glanced over his shoulder with squinted eyes and then continued on his way. The man with the blue eyes and black hair came fully from behind the bookshelf he was at, and walked towards the counter to set an arm's full of books down. Now that Emma could fully see him, she was struck with his handsomeness; she always loved plain white tee shirts on men._

"_It is really no problem. I don't mind coming back later, or even tomorrow if that would be better. I'm not in any hurry. I promised my son, Henry, that I would pick up a couple of the books on the list he gave me, but he would understand if I couldn't get any today." She knew she was rambling—a nervous tick—but she couldn't help herself as his too blue eyes watched her shift in her fur lined boots._

"_What kind of a gentleman would I be if I allowed a lady to leave the shop, or my presence, in distress?" he smirked, but a hint of shyness was hiding behind his cocky expression._

_Emma was about to say something snarky in reply, but snapped her mouth shut and decided that it was probably better not to piss of someone who was trying to help, and who got to decide the final price of her multiple items. She contained her sigh of frustration—just barely—and unfolded the now damp sheet of paper. The man walked towards her and held out his hand so she would pass the paper over. She hesitated at first, but gave in rather quickly._

"_We have most of these books in stock, but there are one or two I might have to order. How old did you say your son was?" he shook his head and started off with the list back around the shelf he had been behind before. It took a moment or him to realise that she wasn't following, and peeked his head around the corner like he had just a couple minutes before. "Are you coming, love?_

"_Right behind you, _love_."_

Present Day (April 20, 2017):

"Why did we decided to do this again?" Emma groaned as she looked through the many sheets of paper that filled the folder resting on her duvet covered lap. She tossed her head back and rested it against the headboard of their bed. Killian didn't look up from the papers he was busy grading, but smiled at her small outburst. "I remember that there was a reason at some point. I'm having a hard time remembering what it was though."

"Because we love each other and our fifth wedding anniversary was the perfect time to renew our vows to each other. I believe there was also something about Charlotte wanting to wear her new dress?" Killian reminded her for what felt to him to be the hundredth time—that night. He put the essays in a neat pile again and threw them onto the night stand of his side of the bed. The alarm clock there showed that it was _10:32_. "Why don't you put away the planning for now and rest for a while? You've been too stressed out with work and all of this planning lately." He shifted from his spot at the head of the bed and took the folder from her hands. The pen that was dangling from between her mouth was quickly sent to the other side of the room and replaced with his lips.

"There is so much left to do though," she mumbled against his lips between kisses. "What if nothing is ready for the seventeenth?" The sound of her papers scattering across the floor met her ears, and the room was flooded in darkness behind her closed eyelids as Killian flicked the switch on the table lamp; still kissing her the whole time. "You'll have no one to blame but yourself when all of our friends show up and nothing is prepared for the ceremony. We'll be saying our vows and—" Killian pulled her body down from her sitting position by the hips so that she was on her back underneath his body. "Don't you have papers to be grading? Over a thousand students can't be—"

"Emma, love," he pulled away from their kissing and took the reading glasses he had been wearing from his face as he spoke softly in the nighttime darkness that filled their bedroom. The only light came from the faint glow of the city light outside the drape covered window. "I love you with all of my heart, and all of my soul, but if you don't shut up I'm going to go insane."

Emma's train of thought and words were halted and instead replaced with the love she held for the man hovering over her tense form. His deep blue eyes shone with nothing but the love for her he always tried to convey. One of his hands cupped her cheek as he looked down at her; thumb caressing her jawline. She could feel the small princess Band-Aid Charlotte put over his paper cut early that morning. She reached up her hand and used it to grab the back of his neck and pull him back towards her lips. The thoughts of party planning and assignment grading were completely gone as a feeling of warmth and comfort filled her insides.

His wet kissing and playful nipping continued down until he settled a final one on the spot right above her navel. He rested his chin down on her stomach and looked up at his lovely wife. Her blonde locks were spread out haphazardly over her pillow while her cheeks were a splotchy red from the heated moments they shared only a few moments ago. He continued to watch her flushed face from his place on her stomach and ran his fingers over the side of her ribcage. Her fingers played with his hair almost unconsciously as she tried to read the thoughts running rampant through is mind.

"I want another one." He whispered to her through the night. The fingers on his left hand drew nonsensical patterns across the bare skin of her abdomen while the fingers on his other hand played with Emma's wedding ring; spinning it around her finger. Emma looked down at him with the confusion she was feeling clear in her expression, and he simply kissed her stomach once again—lower this time—as a way of replying to her silent question.

"You want to have another baby?" she questioned in disbelief. The many nights of being awoken by his nightmares and fears of being father to someone so small and dependent flashed before her eyes. Watching his trembling body looking out over the skyline when he thought she was still asleep in their bed. Days where the stresses of having a child that was part of him as well as her were simply too much for Killian to handle.

But the memories of the good days far outweighed the few bad moments. The feeling of his shallow breaths on her swollen stomach while he rested his head on her lap. Coming home after work to find that he had picked up baby clothes or toys that he saw in a shop window on his way home for campus. Henry and Killian sitting at the kitchen island with a baby name book between the two of them. Henry thought firmly that he was going to have a sister and had picked out the name Charlotte from the beginning. The tears in Killian's eyes the first time he felt their daughter kick at the sound of his soothing voice was a sight that Emma would never forget.

"Okay, let's do it," she decided as the last few memories flashed in her mind. She tugged gently on Killian's dark locks to signal that he should move so that they would once again be face to face. He gave her a toothy and moved quickly up her body, pressing his lips on her body as he moved. A final kiss was settled between their lips before Emma spoke up again, "We're going to have to move into a bigger place though, and figure out a few things with work."

"We will figure it all out when the time comes, love." He pressed another soft, but passionate kiss to her mouth and smiled. Emma rolled them both over so Killian was laying on his back with her straddling his hips. She pulled off her sleep shirt and smirked at his wide-eyed reaction.

"We better get started then."

_Flashback (March 1, 2010):_

_Every day after her initial visit to the bookstore, Emma made sure to stop in and talk to the handsome sales clerk. He greeted her with a bright smile and would talk endlessly about the books he had just finished reading or some of the ones he was planning on buying next. By the fourth consecutive day, he even had a hot peppermint tea waiting for her when she stepped in from the frigid morning air. Snow sprinkled in her hair like the powdered sugar of her favourite baked treat._

_The first morning of March came with sun shining down and the smell of freshly fallen rain. Emma smiled at the sound of the bell chiming over the door when she walked into the store. Earl let out his usual huff and made his way to the back of the store again; just like every morning._

"_He really doesn't like me at all," Emma commented to Killian. He was sitting at the counter near the cash register sipping at his steaming tea. One of his fingers was held up as he finished the final paragraph on the page of the novel he was reading. When he finished, he bookmarked the page and closed it over. "He always leaves the moment I arrive._

"_Earl is just a grumpy old man, love," Killian got up from the stool he was sitting on and grabbed something from behind the counter. "He might also be a bit jealous because you're so much prettier than him—despite the horrible weather you have to trek through." He walked over and traded Emma her damp spring jacket for the dusty book in his hands. "I wanted to give you this for your son. I was cleaning up my apartment and found it in one of the boxes I never got around to unpacking when I moved a little white ago. It is the last book on his list."_

_Emma flipped the book over in her hands and looked over the faded emerald green cover. The title and author's name were both almost completely faded. The inside matched the outside, in that it had been well loved by its previous owner. Some of the slightly yellowed pages were barely still attached to their binding and Emma had to be careful when turning them._

"_That was my favourite book when I was still a lad," Killian informed her as she turned to the main title page. His name and date were written neatly in the dark blue ink of a pen. The words '_Peter Pan_' typed out on the opposite page told her what story was held inside. "It is hard to get a good copy of that story without chunks cut out here and there. My grandfather bought that as a young man when it was first released."_

"_Oh, Killian. I can't take this, it means way too much to—"_

"_Don't even think about it, love. I want Henry to have it to add to his collection."_

"_Are you absolutely sure? I mean, I don't want—"_

_Emma sighed and rolled her eyes up to the ceiling as the loud and unwelcome sound of her ringing cellphone broke the almost silence—other than their conversation—of the store. Killian watched in amusement as she retrieved her phone from her pocket and answered. Various expressions ghosted across her face, finally settling on concerned, as she listened and responded to the person speaking on the other end._

"_Thank you so much for calling, Miss. Oswald. I'll be there in a few minutes to pick him up." She ended the call and looked up to meet Killian's eyes as she shoved the phone back into her pocket. "That was Henry's school nurse. He's sick and needs me to go pick him up from the office there. Thank you very much for the book, but I really have to get going._

_Emma quickly made her way over the couple of feet to the door and turned the brass handle to leave. The book was gripped tightly in her hand and a cold chill ran over her as she rushed down the street, realising that she had forgotten her coat. For a minute or two, she debated on just continuing on her way to the school; she could get her coat later, and Henry was waiting. When she finally gave up and switched directions, figuring it was better if they didn't both get sick, she was surprised to see Killian running from the store with her coat in hand._

"_Emma, you forgot your coat!"_

_She speed walked quickly towards him and immediately recognized his ulterior motive in bringing her the jacket. The intention was clear in his eyes, and Emma quickened her pace to an almost-run. They were just two feet from each other when he grabbed her around the waist and she wrapped her arms around his neck, lips smashing together as soon as they made contact._

_The kiss itself was soft, just like Killian's lips. The cold air was quickly ignored by Emma the moment his tongue swept across her bottom lip. Her jacket forgotten while she deepened the kiss further. They were interrupted too soon by the sound of someone clearing their throat. Both blushed deeply as they realised that they were in the middle of the busy sidewalk. People around them gave mixed looks of wistful smiles and disgusted glares. Emma chuckled and pecked him once again on the lips before falling back on her feet to meet his eyes._

"_It's about damn time."_

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**Thanks again for taking the time to read my story, and this chapter!**

**You can follow me on Tumblr at 'usethesearms', I am going to start posting sneak peeks and stuff on there for future chapters! **

**Review/Favourite/Follow/All That Junk**

**- Erin**


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